Norwegian guitarist-multi-instrumentalist Thomas Bergsten is known from Oslo’s alternative scene and like the psychedelic dance band Gunerius & Verdensveven and The Harvey Steel Show, describing itself as «plays psych jupiterian folk music and spreads love, joy and happiness». The experimental psychedelic spirit is evident in Bergsten’s fusionist «Kosmos».
«Kosmos» was born out of a two-day session at Taakeheimen Lydrike studio in Oslo with producer Morten Øby. Bergsten invited a bunch of trusted musicians, plus one «wild card» – jazz guitarist Bjørn Klakegg, who only one of them had met before. The plan was to play some long improvisational pieces with a few compositional elements, and edit later the recordings in the true spirit of classic albums like Miles Davis’ «Bitches Brew» (Columbia, 1970) or Can’s «Tago Mago» (United Artists, 1971). «Kosmos» is the result of almost eight hours of recordings, and even the drum soundcheck ended up on this record.
Obviously, the listening experience of «Kosmos» does not have the overwhelming effect of listening for the first time to «Bitches Brew» or «Tago Mago». But you can appreciate its stimulating energy and the uplifting joy of a powerful jam. «Drive pt2» surprises with its light, introspect-spiritual atmosphere. The 19-minute «Sun» captures best the experimental yet vintage, electro-acoustic fusionist atmosphere of «Kosmos», and even adds reserved melancholic veins to its mysterious psychedelic-spiritual drama.
Eyal Hareuveni
Thomas Bergsten (g, cigar box harp, perc, lap-steel, sound manipulation), Tore Ljøkelsøy (dr, perc, Hardanger fiddle), Arnfinn Langesæter (s, fl, perc), Jakob Eri Myhre (tp, el.p, eff., perc), Simen Wie (b, perc), Øyvind Heilo (el.p, perc); Bjørn Klakegg (g)
